Educational reforms and legislative initiatives in Australia and internationally during the late 1980s imposed new political solutions on to the problems experienced in educational settings. This paper aims to explore the significance of education to politics, through a brief history and reference to comparative studies. While schools in western democracies have always operated within a political context, the paper argues that the radical conservatism of the 1990s makes it even more important that educators take on an assertive policy role. One possibility is identified through reference to a research-based procedure identified as 'pragmatic policy development'. Educational reforms and legislative initiatives in Australia and internationally during the late 1980s imposed new political solutions on to problems experienced in educational settings. This paper aims to explore the significance of education to politics in a historical and comparative way, with particular reference to the link between education and political economy. The paper argues that schools in western democracies have always operated in a political context but, in this period of radical conservatism, there is a need to assert the role of educators in the policy process. The paper concludes by presenting a strategy for ensuring this role, a procedure identified as 'pragmatic policy development'.